The common cold and the flu are two illnesses that make the rounds every year, and they
can be very frustrating.
Getting the flu or a cold can put you out of commission for several days, and comes
with tiring, uncomfortable symptoms.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of myths about the flu and the common cold that can prevent
you from getting the treatment that you need.
You may hear some common tricks and remedies for avoiding and taking care of these illnesses.
However, not all of the prevailing wisdom stands up to science.
In today’s video, we will be debunking a few myths around the common cold and flu which
have been backed by science.
From things like the flu vaccine causing the flu, taking the flu seriously, colds that
can become the flu, not leaving your house with wet hair to the idea that cold weather
makes you sick and more, keep watching till the end to see all these myths debunked!
Going Outside In the Winter Can Cause A Cold: Your mom might have warned you about running
off to school with damp hair or heading out for a weekend of fun without a coat.
Many people still believe that you can catch a cold just by being cold.
However, you can only get a cold or the flu by being exposed to those viruses.
Mere exposure to cold temperatures won’t cause an illness.
So, why are you more likely to be sick in the winter?
Researchers have offered various reasons, from the increased proximity to other people
as everyone goes inside when it’s cold outside to drier air, which could make your mucus
membranes less resilient to viruses.
But lower temperature isn’t one of them.
Antibiotics will make cold or flu symptoms better: Antibiotics can treat bacterial infections,
but they won’t address the core cause of a cold or the flu.
In fact, taking antibiotics when you don’t need them promotes antibiotic resistance,
a phenomenon in which bacteria overexposed to antibiotics become more able to survive
exposure to them.
This can mean that antibiotics don’t work when they’re needed.
Because a bacterial infection can sometimes arise as a result of the flu, it doesn’t
hurt to check with your doctor if you’re short of breath, have chest pains, experience
a fever above 100 degrees or pass out.
Still, a simple cold or flu virus won’t respond to these medications.
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You are only contagious before you start showing symptoms: Another common myth that applies
to both colds and the flu is that you are only contagious for a short period of time
before the symptoms set in.
However, you are actually contagious for longer than you might think.
It’s important to take precautions to stop the illness from spreading for the entire
time that you have it.
Once your symptoms start to improve and your fever subsides, then you can go back to school
or work, but make sure that you are still covering your mouth when you cough and washing
your hands frequently.
A cold can become the flu: Even though the flu and the common cold are both respiratory
illnesses, they stem from different viruses.
So, a common cold cannot develop into the flu.
This is confusing to some people as they have similar symptoms.
The typical flu virus is far more severe.
A person with the flu has extreme body aches, fever, fatigue, and a cough.
This is why most people are bedridden for a week.
Whereas, a common cold most often produces a runny nose and itchy throat which clears
within a few days.
If you suspect you or a loved one has the flu, you should see a healthcare professional
immediately.
Especially in children, as the results of the flu can be dire.
You Shouldn’t Take Cold And Flu Seriously: Even though you may hear the words cold and
flu season every winter, some people brush it off.
The common cold is not very dangerous, however, every year there are many deaths related to
the flu.
Each year in the U.S. hundreds of children lose their lives to this virus and many senior
citizens have a higher risk of death.
Healthcare professionals like doctors and nurses strongly advise parents to protect
their children and vaccine them.
While there are still cases of children dying from the virus who had the shot, as a parent
you would want to do everything you can to protect them.
A Flu Shot Can Make You Sick: Some flu vaccines might make you feel a little weird in the
hours or days after you get injected.
You might experience headache, a slight fever, and other early flu symptoms.
But then they go away.
If you do get sick after you’ve been vaccinated, the flu shot isn’t what made you sick.
It can be because you picked up a cold, or a strain of flu that the vaccine didn’t
address.
Or the flu virus was already in you when you got the shot, and the vaccine hadn’t taken
effect yet.
You only catch a cold when someone sneezes on you: This is another myth which is false.
You're more likely to be infected with a cold by touching a door handle, tea towel, or a
handrail on the bus that's been contaminated by the virus.
Shaking hands also passes on germs.
Once your fingers have been contaminated and you rub your eyes or nose, the virus could
invade your body.
However, with the flu, people can more easily breathe in droplets containing the influenza
virus that have been sneezed or coughed into the air.
Chicken soup is a good remedy for treating a cold or flu: Chicken soup might just be
the most common home remedy for treating a cold or flu, but is it really an effective
treatment against the symptoms of a cold or flu virus?
As with most decaffeinated hot liquids, chicken soup has been shown to help temporally clear
nasal congestion.
However, due to their high sodium content, many chicken soups could actually worsen cold
and flu symptoms.
Hypernatremia occurs when there is an electrolyte disturbance that is defined by an elevated
sodium level in the blood.
Because excess sodium has been shown to have dehydrating effects on your body, many types
of chicken soup may actually have detrimental effects on the treatment of common cold and
flu symptoms, making this the ultimate cold and flu myth.
Staying properly hydrated is one of the most important things you can do when treating
a cold or flu.
Hydration can help to loosen mucus and assist in alleviating congestion.
While chicken soup may be the ultimate comfort food, its dehydrating properties may end up
doing more harm than good when treating a cold or flu.
Feed a cold and starve a fever: Should you feed a cold and starve a fever?
Or is it the other way around, starve a cold and feed a fever?
Whatever you may have heard about starving or feeding a cold or the flu, the good news
is that this is a myth.
Starving is never an appropriate option for dealing with a cold or flu.
That’s because calorie restriction puts your immune system in a state of distress,
while calorie ingestion favors immunity.
The best thing you can do when you’re suffering from a cold or flu is take in plenty of fluids
and eat foods rich in zinc and antioxidants like beta-carotene and vitamins C and E.
Foods rich in zinc include: eggs, meats, nuts, seafood, seeds, wheat germ, and whole grains;
while most brightly colored fruits, vegetables and dark leafy greens are high in antioxidants.
Getting the flu vaccine every year isn’t necessary: Not True!
You should get the flu vaccine every year.
Last season’s flu shot will not protect you against this season’s flu virus.
The reason is flu viruses change from year to year, which is why the flu vaccine is updated
yearly to include the current virus strains that are circulating.
This means that the flu vaccine you received last year for a particular strain may not
protect you from the new flu virus strain that is circulating this year.
This is also the reason that you can get the flu more than once in a season if different
strains of the virus are circulating.
In addition, your immunity or your body’s natural protection against disease tends to
decline over time, so it is necessary to get the flu vaccine every year to ensure you are
protected.
You should Avoid Eating Dairy Products When You Have a Cold: Not eating dairy when you
have a cold or the flu is another long-standing wives' tale.
It is claimed that dairy products create more mucus in the body.
It is probably related to the feeling of a thick phlegm in your throat, but there isn’t
any actually more phlegm created after eating dairy.
Yoghurt is actually recommended while fighting a cold because of the nutrients it contains.
One cup of yoghurt contains almost 20 percent of the recommended daily intake of zinc for
an adult and zinc supports healthy immune system function.
Probiotics in yoghurt can also improve immune function.
It’s an excellent source of vitamin A, calcium and potassium which provide the nutritional
support your body needs to fight an infection.
Milk has also received a bad rap for creating mucous, but research has shown there is no
difference after drinking cow or soy milk.
So, next time you have a cold, consider following your chicken soup meal with a bowl of yoghurt
for dessert.
How often do you get the common cold and flu?
How many of these myths did you believe in?
Let us know in the comments section below!